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You know if it wasn't for Jacky being so shareholder friendly I wouldn't have invested in this co. many others wouldn't have either. What ever happened to Starr being able to verify cash at any time and the large amount of DD they did? They might have been in on this as well.
Yeah from March 3rd, Starr and shorts knew everything. I wouldn't be surprised if Starr went short too. Looks like the CEO may not be the man of integrity everyone thought and now that Dorothy Dong is gone there doesn't seem to be anyway this can be resolved.
Nice DD there, the issue is settled for all the doubters.
You sure for me it still says:
Q: Who is CCME's registered independent public accounting firm?
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Hong Kong audits our consolidated financial statements.
One thing to note is the fact that they put up the PR about the resignation on the website. Why even bother if they plan on running away with their tail between their legs.
gunnar - my confirmation was on March 9th. I don't know or think it's been scuttled and believe it's more appropriate now given our position.
To be be frank, I'm still optimistic, (even though I've accepted mentally/emotionally a total loss) that we might still fare semi-well and I must still give benefit of the doubt to the CEO and Starr until this situation is further explained.
My take on this is that as long as the cash is there and Starr is still on board, with a buy back or tender offer along with FH dishing out the PRs all is not lost.
I do wonder if brokers will go naked for all the puts bought from the shorts with no shares, if they do we may very well have 10 mil or more short shares on top of the naked shares, and if this turns out to be anything except outright fraud then we will live to fight another day.
Just need to wait and see now. Here's hoping Starr gets to choose a bad ass CFO that gets paid $1mil+ a year.
Ah your right I never noticed that before since I only glanced at it.
But still, they gave the right email so maybe its a scripted answer at this point. Try emailing Rene.Fang@fleishman.com and see if you get the same answer.
To support Joe's fact of FH being hired. I managed to get actual confirmation though a VP of FH and no I won't reveal the source or contact information or discuss anything that was said so if you don't believe it I can't blame you.
What I can do is share an email I received 3 days ago from a general inquiry.
Notice that they now use the correct email address for CCME IR, where as last week they were using the wrong one.
Dear Mr. XXXXXXXXX,
Thank you for your email.
Fleishman-Hillard does not act in a public spokesperson role for investors or media on behalf of China Media Enterprises, please direct your inquiry to the Company's IR email address ir@ccme.tv
Best Regards
XXXX XXXX
Fleishman-Hillard | Digital. Integrated. Global.
Because the shorts might have gotten wind of successful 10K(I believe just as the FDA has moles, so to does DT) and they would have pulled out all the stops just like they do when they are on the wrong side of FDA approvals.
By the release of hit pieces we received over the weekend and the trading at the start of Friday it was clear that they intended to spread more FUD, and it was probably going to be their make or break day for getting us under $10. If they managed to get us under $10 a big psychological barrier would have been broken and they would have been able to escape IMO.
So CCME halts the stock citing a possible leak of the results, they finish up everything with DT over the weekend and now they deceive the shorts into thinking they've won until the 16th. The shorts won't be able slip away, they'll be facing a huge gap up and find very little people willing to sell for less than $30.
lol, looks like we both had the same revelation and at this point it seems to be the most plausible explanation we have.
If we think about it, we never hear leaks of imminent hit pieces one or two or more days in advance, they just catch everyone off guard because it is in the best interest of the short sellers to keep it under wraps.
Is it so hard to believe that CCME management and its close associates can't also keep quiet on something that is in the best interests of its shareholders and reputation? I think not and believe that management figured out the only way to once and for all rid itself of this tumor.
No the latest is the 16th which would be the 4th business day of the halt and which also coincides with the filing date for the 10K. I'll assume they have until the end of the 16th to file an NT if they need to.
No matter how many angles I look at this from I'm still bullish. Starr, GH, 2010 DT audit and the CEO warning "For the stock market speculators interested in enriching themselves through manipulation, information arbitrage and a “zero sum” gain, all at the expense of our investors, I am certain that their actions will ultimately catch up with them."
The CEO is young and ambitious and he's been insulted and accused of fraud. If any of us were in his position what would we do? I'd expect another final assault on my credibility so the criminals could escape like thief in the night.
Late Friday CCME might have been informed that the audit is completed and signed barring a few minor issues. They supected that the news would leak and the shorts would pull out all the stops to get out while CCME management is sound asleep(think bear raid like before FDA approvals). So they requested a halt and now play possum until the 16th.
What better way would there be to get revenge on the shorts? Sure they could release a statement that everything is on track and the 10K will come out on the 16th, but where is the fun in that? The shorts never gave advance warning and let the company or its investors prepare in advance, why offer the courtesy of mental preparation to the shorts? Just hit them with it unexpectedly. That's what I would do and even though investors suffered for a few days they would praise my tactics in the end.
We shall see if Zheng Cheng is a man of tactics.
I remember reading in one of the short articles that Starr was apparently trying to urge CCME to do a $100M offering. Whether true or not that would certainly be a large stake, greater than 5% and I wonder if they didn't halt the stock while negotiating with a large institution if that is reasonable grounds for a halt.
I'd imagine if CCME is legit then a big player would like to use the depressed price for a good deal maybe at $15 or $16 a share and perhaps they have already bought a large number of shares off the open market so with the additional shares it would give them an even larger stake.
Just some more food for thought.
The question is, would DT really resign a week before the 10K is due?
GH verified cash, Starr can monitor cash anytime it wants, DT signed off on the cash in hand for 2010. One thing that must be certain in all this is that the cash is there, so maybe in the unlikely event that DT did resign perhaps the company is trying to prepare a tender offer to go along with the bad news.
If they would just come out with the bads news then trading would resume and we'd be cooked, so at this point I'll lean toward the news being bad but that management isn't releasing it until they get good news ready to outweigh it. Even with bad news such as that, if they would join with Starr and do a tender offer, dividend, and buyout they could kill shorts in the process.
You know it is very possible that the SEC is investigating the stock manipulation which to us has been so obvious over the last couple months.
Many of us here have sent daily or weekly complaints to the SEC because the attacks by short sellers have always been proven false or to be inconclusive. There is and has been blatant manipulation going on (very fishy business with deep ITM calls) so perhaps the SEC could no longer turn a blind eye and is providing the climax for this drama.
As per one of Burp's posts, I'm more inclined to believe the rumor from the R&R conference floor regarding SEC investigation since they are in the midst of the CGS industry.
I thought one of his key complaints was that he said the phones never rang, but in the background I'm pretty sure I heard a phone ringing.
The office actually looks quite professional and nothing like a college dorm as he described it.
This whole thing reeks of manipulation to me. Just looking at all the puts $10 and below, almost like it was known from the start that DT would resign in the very last days, if it is indeed true.
Agree that they keep the stock halted until everything is ready. Let them take the time they need even if it's a full forensic audit.
I strongly agree most with a tender offer for anything $10 and above just to set a bottom. I think that's what they may very well be working on but if someone with close contact to management could mention it, it would be the best thing they can do aside from a nearly perfect 10K.
It really is ridiculous that baseless short claims, which have been refuted, have caused so much trouble and might have even delayed the 10K. I wouldn't mind a halt that lasts as long as NEP did, I'd feel bad for the guys with call options but at least the shorts would pay big.
The news is most likely going to be 80% positive at this point. If it was negative they would have let the cat out of the bag by now.
I have a theory for those who are interested.
Maybe this was all a setup from/for Starr or another big player so that they could shake the insiders and buy up all the shares from the Lin brothers or others, while simultaneously buying 7+ mil shorted+naked shares and deep ITM calls.
Maybe they have been buying the stock since the attacks absorbing all the naked shares, and maybe they purchased and exercised the over 30K call volume we saw last week, and maybe they made an agreement to buy shares from the Lin brothers for $13 a share.
Maybe through all the naked shorting, call buying, and negotiations with former insiders they managed to get a controlling stake in the company and now CCME and the SEC doesn't know what the hell to do so they had to halt the stock to figure out what's going on.
Wild idea but you never know;)
I read that but it has no credibility, unless of course Starr was trying to convince management to do the offering on the HK exchange which come to think of it would benefit the company.
Also, note that R&R would not have been part of the deal they were only involved in the shopping around of the insider shares.
Who knows though, I guess we can add a dual listing announcement to the deck of speculation.
Too bad their plans to release it at 1:00PM yesterday were ruined. Doesn't matter what anyone says, for now we wait.
I must agree with you guys as well. One day he's praising the co. and management and the next day he states he always thought something was wrong, and bashes Zheng Cheng based by how he appeared from an old interview.
The fact that he's all or mostly cash and then tells people invested in CCME to short other CGS stocks is ridiculous advice to say the least, and the worst advice you can give to people who are unsure of how to proceed and worried about what will happen. I wonder how many stocks he shorted yesterday?
Judging by how excited he was and his single minded view it seems to me that he is lacking a key trait which to me is very important, empathy.
I'm still siding with the company and remember this part from the CEO letter:
'Nothing significant' is the tell here. The rest is her making sure she covers all bases. Thanks for sharing the info.
Yes and not to mention the fact that everytime we've been on the list recently, its coincided with a fresh hit piece of some sort. Like many of us have said, just releasing 10K might not be enough to eliminate shorts, they need to wipe them out.
Yes and usually companies release bad news on a Friday after markets are closed, not halt the stock and then release bad news.
Just to speculate some more, maybe they aren't ready yet with the 10K and know the silence was having a negative impact and judging by the shorts previous attacks, wanted to make sure another hit piece wasn't released today.
Please keep us informed if you do manage to get in touch with him. Even if it is a restatement, they can still issue a dividend and buyback shares. I've trusted in CCME management thus far and haven't given up hope yet.
Yeah and despite all the theories no one is certain what went on with all the over 30K calls purchased and never going to the open interest. Could be anything.
You know if they were to file for an extension then they might have very well done us a favor by halting until everything is ready and then reopen with buyback, dividend, and everything else they got. Keep it halted until everything is in order.
Well I was one of the people wanting them to halt the stock back in Feb until they would release the 10K. I just hope this halt is for that reason.
Yeah its pretty funny. Last week no news was bullish because it meant there were no problems with the audit and everything was good, this week on the other hand people are starting to break and have doubts. The real problem we face is that we still have to get through Friday and hope people can keep their sanity, lol.
All joking aside though, CCME has always released news on Monday's premarket. Only one time did they do otherwise so I am somewhat confident that we will get something on Monday. I'd like to see on Monday that earnings and 10K will be released on Wednesday. Lets see if it happens.
I never suggested anything of the sort only stated my wishful thinking. Funny that you mention it though because I've seen many a post deleted that were well within the TOU. But no matter, let the stealth bashers have their fun.
The calls today went through in the middle but mostly at the ask, not one at the bid. So it doesn't look like selling to me but buying.
I honestly don't think the shorts are foolish enough to sell such deep in the money calls. Even if the stock tanked a couple dollars they would still have to provide the shares, its counterproductive. I'd be more inclined to believe it if they were selling naked $12.50 or higher but definitely not such low strikes, its far too reckless even for shorts.
Anyone that wants to keep track of open option interest for tomorrow.
March:
$2.50 Calls
Open Interest 7
Call Activity 1423
Noticible Blocks
1000@3:58
$5.00 Calls
Open Interest 1001
Call Activity 1199
Noticible Blocks
1000@3:58
$7.50
Open Interest 5218
Call Activity 5919
Noticible Blocks
1000@3:19
4000@3:55
April:
$3.00 Calls
Open Interest 452
Call Activity 3325
Noticible Blocks
300@3:00
1500@3:04
1200@3:20
I don't think the MM would sell that many calls without having the shares first, if he did that he would be taking a loss because the premiums are almost nil. In fact all of the big block calls (exactly 10k total today) came after 3pm so the MM would be open to huge risks if we gapped up overnight. So I think how many calls are sold depends largely on how much the MM can accumulate throughout the trading day.
My theory is that the MM knows the big orders he needs to fill(or has a big institution that basically wants everything it can get) probably from the beginning of the day and then trys to get enough shares throughout the day so he can fill as much as the large orders as possible, that explains to me why we usually hold up well under selling pressure.
What I don't understand is why the MM doesn't jack up the premiums even a little bit, not even the April ones had a premium. The other thing I don't get is if it was shorts that bought and then exercised them to cover why are we still on RegSHO and why would they keep pounding the bid? Either someone is playing games with us or we really are in store for MOASS.
I don't consider myself an options guy, but in any event its great for us because its probably big money moving in or big shorts moving out either of which points to everything being good with the 10K.
I don't have the numbers on me but in 6 trading days that would be well over 30k contracts of calls bought (mostly $5 strikes and lower) and my guess is they will again be exercised today.
Also to note is the put interest is going down, so it looks to me like shorts are moving out asap. Wonder if we get news tmrw....
Why do I get the feeling that shorts are getting off the hook via these calls. Damn 900k shares in large blocks today, we better get our squeeze.
Also 1000 block March $2.50 calls just now.
1000 Block March $5 call went through.
4000 Big Block $7.50 March call just went through.
3000 April $3 calls bought in just the last hour.